Last season ended with an ominous view of the prison, and The Walking Dead season 3 premiere definitely delivered on that promise. For fans of the comic, you know that a lot of crazy stuff goes down when the group gets to the prison, so I’m interested to see how much of that is the same in the series given that it’s already departed quite a bit from the comic.

The episode opens with the gang bursting into a house full of walkers, and we see that little Carl is quite the badass now, helping his dad and the others clear out all the undead. Apparently several months have passed, since Lori is extremely pregnant now, and it seems to be routine for them to enter a new house, get the food, and gather together in silence. No one speaks, they hardly even look at each other, but they all work together like a well-oiled machine. Everyone clearly has their role, and they’ve been through a lot since we last saw them.

When they finally come across the prison, you can tell from the look on Rick’s face that it seems like the solution to all of their problems. As they’re picking off the walkers, it’s kind of eerie how much satisfaction everyone gets out of shooting and stabbing the walkers in the heads. Clearly the entire group has become completely desensitized to the kind of violence that they need to deal with on an everyday basis, even to the point where they get enjoyment out of it.

We also get a brief glance of Michonne, who efficiently dispatches three walkers so she can grab a couple packets of aspirin. She’s obviously been taking care of Andrea, who seems to be sick, but from what is unclear. Judging by their conversation, they’ve been traveling together and watching each other’s backs for a while–long enough to have such a fierce loyalty to each other that neither wants to leave the other behind. We don’t get to see much more of them than that, but judging by the previews for next week, Michonne and Andrea are going to play a big part later in the season.

Things with Rick and Lori, though, are not going well. Even as she tries to reason with him, convince him that everyone needs to take a breather before going further into the prison, Rick refuses to listen. When she tells him that they need to talk about “things,” Rick scoffs at her, saying, “I’m still here, aren’t I?” Later, when Lori tries to thank Rick for clearing out the cell block, he brushes her off without even looking at her.

Even as cold as he’s being, Lori’s main concern is still to protect him and Carl, begging Hershel to put her down immediately if she dies in childbirth. Her conversation with him over the possibility of her child being stillborn is chilling and heartbreaking, even though I don’t find her particularly sympathetic as a character. It’s clearly been an extremely difficult and trying pregnancy, and why wouldn’t it be when you’re constantly running and fighting for your life?

On a lighter note, I kind of love the relationship between Daryl and Carol. The writers know that the audience is expecting the two of them to connect because of how close they’ve been in the past, and they side-stepped a romantic/carnal relationship nicely with the hilarious exchange that these unlikely friends have on top of the RV towards the beginning of the episode. It’s also kind of adorable how Carl seems to have taken a liking to Beth, stammering and stuttering when Hershel eyes him and asks him whether he’s found a cell to sleep in.

The real shocker comes at the end of the episode when the gang goes deeper into the prison. In a move that clearly shows that they’ve never played D&D, Glenn and Maggie split the party, resulting in Hershel getting a huge bite taken out of his leg as he and the others try to find their missing compatriots. Good ole Rick doesn’t want to leave a man behind, though, and they drag Hershel into a nearby cafeteria where they perform an impromptu amputation of Hershel’s bitten leg. I personally don’t think he’d going to live through it unless that prison is seriously well stocked with medical supplies.

We also get a glimpse at the other people inhabiting the prison, which those who’ve read the comics would have anticipated. From the brief look at them that we get through the dirty window, it’s not clear who these people are, but chances are good that they’re prisoners who managed to escape being bitten.

I know Justin (@edgyarmo) is not a huge fan of The Walking Dead because it bores him to tears, but I thought that the premiere episode was gripping and exciting the whole way through. Conflicts and relationships were set up very nicely and succinctly, and the tension is thicker than that crowd of walkers inside the prison. The Walking Dead is definitely hitting the ground running (literally), and I’m excited to see where the season is headed next.

My favorite line of the episode comes from Daryl: “That owl didn’t exactly hit the spot.”

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thejerd

I hope that Hershel somehow makes it through this… he became my favorite character by the end of last season. My heart was pounding the last couple of minutes of th show last night!